The Black Hole of AuschwitzISBN: 978-0-7456-3240-7
Hardcover
240 pages
December 2005, Polity
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The Black Hole of Auschwitz brings together Levi’s
writings on the Holocaust and his experiences of the concentration
camp, as well as those on his own accidental status as a writer and
his chosen profession of chemist. In this book Levi rails
intelligently and eloquently against what he saw as the ebb of
compassion and interest in the Holocaust, and the yearly assault on
the veracity and moral weight of the testimonies of its survivors.
For Levi, to keep writing and, through writing, to understand why
the Holocaust could happen, was nothing less than a safeguard
against the loss of a collective memory of the atrocities
perpetrated against the Jewish people.
This moving book not only reveals the care and conviction with which he wrote about the Holocaust, but also shows the range of Levi’s interests and the skill, thoughtfulness and sensitivity he brought to all his subjects. The consistency and moral force of Levi’s reflections and the clarity and intimacy of his style will make this book appeal to a wide readership, including those who have read and been moved by his masterpiece If This is a Man.